Raytheon chooses Tucson for missiles and defense headquarters
Feb 3, 2020, 11:15 AM | Updated: 12:55 pm
(Facebook Photo)
(Facebook Photo)
PHOENIX – Defense contractor Raytheon will be setting up new headquarters for its missiles and defense division in Tucson, the company has announced.
A merger with United Technologies will set Raytheon Missiles & Defense in southern Arizona, and Raytheon Intelligence & Space will be in Arlington, Virginia.
Raytheon’s missile system already employs about 13,000 workers in the Tucson area.
The company is known for building defense systems such as the Tomahawk cruise missile.
The Tucson campus will focus on hypersonics — vehicles or weapons which can fly five times faster than the speed of sound.
The merger was likely to close early in the second quarter of 2020, pending federal antitrust approval.
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“Integration planning for the merger with United Technologies is progressing well,” Raytheon CEO Thomas A. Kennedy said in statement late last week.
The company finished 2019 sales with $29 billion.
President Donald Trump expressed concern when the plan was made public.
“When I hear they’re merging … does that take away more competition?” he asked.
“It becomes one big, fat beautiful company, but I have to negotiate, meaning the United States has to buy things. Does that make it less competitive?”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
